Honorary Intern for Life, Mobbing, and Bystanding

My experience working with Laura Crawshaw and meeting all of the amazing people who are working with her to reduce suffering in the workplace caused by abrasive behavior has been truly wonderful.  In fact, Laura and I have connected so well, I am now an honorary intern for life with the Boss Whispering Institute, an honor I gladly accepted.

I plan to continue as a member of the CACHE steering committee and help with the organizing of next year’s colloquium.  Based on the post-colloquium survey results, a decision has been made to hold it at another university.  Several universities have already offered to host next year’s event, but a final selection has not yet been made.  For myself, I was kind of hoping for something a little more exotic, like Italy or France.  I guess I’ll have to settle for an honorary internship next summer at the boss whispering training in Venice.  I can always hope.

In closing this internship blog, the areas that most interest me regarding bullying and abrasive behavior are the dynamics of mobbing and bystanding.  During the symposium, I heard dreadful stories of mobbing in the workplace.  In fact, those stories helped me recognize a situation in which I had unknowingly been part of a mob, something I never want to be guilty of again.  As for bystanding, I have experienced the fear of being attacked or ostracized for stepping up to speak out against injustice.  My hope is that I will find the strength and compassion needed to help people work through their fear so they can help others.